Best Served Cold by Robert Knighton
by patrioticmerc
Summary: This is the story I hosted on my web site some time ago. I've finally uploaded it for Robert, though we've been out of touch. I take no credit except for having provided him the means to give other Ranma fans access to his work.


Ranma 1/2: Best Served Cold By Robert Knighton

Domo arigato Takahashi-sama, without your genius, we would all be a little poorer.

Standard disclaimers apply, you know the drill. *whir...whir..* KEEP THAT DRILL AWAY FROM ME!

I had originally assumed that this was a "dark-fic", but was politely told that it really isn't. For those that did not read this the first time around because of that labeling, my apologies. Read for yourself, and make up your own mind. I believe that you will be pleasantly surprised. C&C always welcome.

The original version was voted 3rd best one-shot by the Best of Ranma 1/2 FanFiction site for July 1999. Thanks to all those who voted for me. That this, not only my first fanfic, but also my first piece of serious writing, was so honored is a true boost to my ego.

You can find the original version at Jarred Mitchell's home page listed at the end of the story. Hopefully, he will keep both versions until the yearly vote is in.

For now, on with the show:

*...* - thinking ... - Chinese.

- The attack had come without warning. No one had seen the enemy come. None of the sentries had cried warning. In the cold darkness, just before dawn, it came. Overpowering, devastating, without mercy it came.

Cologne was in shock. Tears streamed down her face, as much from impotent rage and fear as from intense horror, as she looked around in the brightening pre-dawn at the limp and sometimes bleeding bodies of her friends, family, and fellow warriors. She could hear the roaring crackling of the flames as the village and its fields burned around her. She was startled by a nearby explosion of ki force.

*So much power, you would have made the village proud.*

She heard the ripping snap as a building was torn apart by bare hands, and the on-going battle cries of the warriors turning to screams as they tried to stop the unstoppable. Screams that were suddenly, brutally cut off as they fell. Singly, in pairs, even a dozen or more at a time, they failed to do more than slow the awful destruction.

*At least they are buying time for the children to escape.* The hope of the village would live on with the teachings of the ancient scrolls and of those who guarded the children. IF they could escape.

Shaking herself, she followed the sounds of destruction, and began to get in front so she could possibly stop it. Old as she was, she was the best and most dangerous martial artist in the village. Soon she was positioned on a trail in the path of destruction. She waited, gathering in her ki with every breath, and preparing for this fight.

The sounds of violence approached steadily. The volume of the battle rapidly diminished as the warriors continued to fall. Then, suddenly, the last of the warriors screamed to the sound of snapping bones and joints, and fell silent. In the silence that followed, she heard a soft, but steady, tread. The wind chose that moment to blow the smoke a different way, and she saw him. The Enemy.

Much of his clothing was cut or ripped off. Cologne's eyes widened as she took in the patterns of blood spread across his body. Despite the blood, there were no wounds visible on his body. *He's learned to apply healing techniques to himself for almost instant healing! Such raw power!*

His aura was literally blazing in crimson rage around him, held in check by his will alone. His black hair was only slightly singed, and he had some soot smudging his cheeks. But most arresting were his eyes. Blue eyes that blazed with a cold, unstoppable hatred that seared her heart as they locked onto hers. Ranma.

She shivered in fear as she thought about how this had all come to be. *Oh sweet ancestors, forgive me for bringing destruction to our home. How could I know it would be like this? I remember that day still...*

It had been a month since Ranma had announced his choice of Akane as his only true love, and the fiancee he was going to marry. A month of planning and observation on Cologne's part, of crying, spying, and several aborted attempts at vengeance on Shampoo's. A month of justifiable paranoia on the part of Ranma and Akane. It had been hard to wait as Ukyou and the Kuno's all reacted to the announcement with predictable levels of violence and denial, harder still to control Shampoo, but the waiting had paid off.

Their break finally came in the form of Ryoga. Shampoo had found him in his cursed form, and had carried him into the Nekohanten. Cologne recognized the opportunity, and had started in on his pressure points immediately. By the time he was changed back, he was in a killing rage. Cologne had knocked him unconscious, and gone to Dr. Tofu's, where Shampoo had reported Ranma and Akane going just a short time before.

Seeing Akane coming out in tears was all it took to get Ryoga fully enraged. The battle forced Ranma away from Akane, and Akane was blocked from going back to Dr. Tofu's. She had headed away towards home before Ranma could get back , her hand pressed against her stomach, a strange half sad, half elated expression on her face. Cologne and Shampoo following close behind.

They had caught Akane alone, away from any help. Shampoo had challenged her to fight for Ranma with the loser giving up all rights of marrying him. They had not given her a choice but to accept. They knew that she wasn't as good as Shampoo, and had counted on that. It wasn't until her great-grand daughter's attack that Cologne had realized her error. Akane had suddenly changed. A cold, angry, almost predatory gleam of anticipation lighting her face as her body became poised with the same boundless confidence as Ranma's.

It was over in seconds. Cologne had watched in shock as Akane had summoned her hammer and cried out 'Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken, revised - Hammer Storm!" Shampoo was stopped before she reached Akane, pounded ruthlessly by more that a hundred hammer strikes. To everyone's surprise, she had won decisively, and had defiantly let Shampoo's severely battered body fall at her feet. Mousse had rushed in from where he was watching in secret to gather her up in his arms.

"No more..." Akane growled, her battle aura glowing brightly, her hammer clenched in her fist. "He's mine! He chose me, and I've chosen him. Leave us alone! You will never have him!"

*She defies me!* Cologne thought, turning red with rage. *She, an outsider, has defeated the best of her generation, and openly defies _ME_! All the planning, all the hopes and work to bring Ranma back to our village as husband to Shampoo. All for NOTHING! I staked my position and reputation on winning him, and this cannot, WILL NOT be allowed!*

She still couldn't remember why she struck the first blow. She had said that it would never be over, that Akane would never know peace. But all Akane had done was to give her a pitying look, and then turn and walk away, triumph showing in every line. She snapped.

Mousse screamed a warning, tried to stop her, and was almost killed for it. Her staff catching him under the ear, almost taking his head. Shampoo had tried, but she was too hurt to do more than get in her way and be hurt even worse. She had been slowed enough that Akane almost got away...almost.

The look in Akane's eyes after her thrown staff had taken her in the back and paralyzed her was a mix of rage and fear, but no surrender. "Coward!" She spat from the ground. "Honorless bag of bones with no purpose in life! I STILL WON! Ranma will always be mine! You can't change that!"

With this, the rage engulfed her, and she ceased to think or see. All she could do was hear the screams and the sound of the staff striking Akane's body over and over until even the whimpering had stopped.

Chest heaving from the exertion, Cologne looked at Shampoo, and saw her eyes wide with shock, disgust and fear. Pointing at Mousse, Cologne said If he's not dead, he should be. No one interferes with an elder and lives. As for you...you have failed me for the last time, great-granddaughter. I will kill you if you come back to the village. I will have you banished forever for your failures.

Cologne looked at Shampoo with disgust, No longer are you family. No longer am I your Great-grandmother. Your name shall no longer be spoken in our village Shampoo slumped to the ground weeping in despair.

She left Japan that very night more than a year ago. She thought that she'd be safe in the village. She was wrong.

"I'd started to hope that you wouldn't be coming Son-in-Law. I have to kill you for what you've done here." She puffed with bravado, unwilling to let him see her fear.

*How had he done so much damage, and kept from being hurt? How can he be so strong after so much effort? Where did he get the strength and power I see in him now?*

"Your laws hold me no longer," he sneered. "It took Mousse and Shampoo a month and a half to get out of the hospital. Another two months to walk without pain. They stuck with each other, and lent each other strength to carry on. Shampoo finally fell in love with Mousse, and they were married three months ago. They are expecting their first child. She's finally found her joy."

She blanched at this news, knowing that everything she had done was all for nothing. "Why didn't you come to do this right after Akane died?"

He glared at her. "She survived. Not for lack of trying on your part. You almost succeeded. It took her a month to come out of her coma, months more to get out of the hospital. She's had constant nightmares, and was frightened of almost everyone and everything. She had to have extensive therapy, both psychological and physical, and they _still_ don't know if she'll ever be pain free. Had Tofu-sensei not come by when he did, and Happosai not been nearby, she _would_ be dead."

No, you didn't manage to kill her, but you killed all hopes of having a family! She was pregnant! We had just gotten the news from Doc Tofu. The beating you gave her was so severe that it ruptured many of her internal organs. They had to remove her uterus to stop the most severe bleeding and save her life!

He smiled. A cold bitter smile that left her shuddering. "When Dr. Tofu told me what they had to do, and the consequence of it, I wanted to come and destroy you in a blind fit of rage, but Tofu-sensei put me down with one of his shiatsu points. Left me raging impotently until I could see reason again. I really was quite insane for a while there.

His eyes glowed as he remembered the loss of control. "Then I decided that I wanted to be able to hurt you as badly as you hurt me, and survive. I've been training for almost the last year for this.

"Happosai had to get my attention when I went berserk, but the thought that Akane might survive only if I helped brought me around. You see, Happosai and Tofu-sensei knew of a ki technique where a person could keep another alive by transferring ki and chi from themselves to the one near death. That I am also a girl helped, because I could harness female chi. The worst was that this started triggering the neko-ken. I had no choice but to master it.

"It was a very hard road. We both nearly died several times. We prevailed. The transfer and healing techniques that I learned to help Akane were easily transferred to my training in the Art. Akane is alive. That is the most important thing. It is also your people's only salvation."

"My people's?"

Ranma nodded, his aura darkening. His voice was bleak and cold as he answered. "Had she died, I would have had nothing to live for except the death of every amazon here.

Chuckling cruelly, he continued, "Your people are not dead. Just very badly hurt. All of your crops, seeds, buildings, scrolls and histories are burned and destroyed. They have no food or shelter, and winter's comin' in a month. They have very few able bodies left. Just the ones with the children."

With that his aura turned into a cold fire, and an almost evil smile played around his lips. "What do you think will happen when the government of the People's Republic of China has to bail them out? Your people will cease to exist. With no history, and with the PRC scattering them to the far corners of China, their way of life will be ended."

With quiet menace and cold satisfaction he added, "You brought this about, Cologne. Now your people will be no more. Never again will someone suffer from the Amazons as I have."

She swayed at this news, her heart pounding painfully. She knew he was right. Her people would be pressed to fade into the larger body of the PRC. She'd thought that the scrolls would survive. Then she remembered, and hope sparked a little. Ranma couldn't know about the hidden caches of scrolls they had prepared for an emergency such as this. As long as the knowledge could be passed to the next generation, her people, and their ways, would survive. She began to regain her equilibrium.

Ranma saw this, and smiled with cold cruelty. "Thinking about those 'hidden scrolls'? Don't bother. Shampoo knew about them, and I've spent the last week finding and destroying every cache I could. Your people WILL be no more," he sneered, "and you won't be around to stop it or to help.

Pausing, he gathered his thoughts. "You've failed, Old Ghoul. Akane is still alive. Shampoo married Mousse, not me. Your village is destroyed, and your people will soon forget their heritage. All because of the dishonorable actions you, and you alone, are responsible for. You destroyed an innocent life, and our hopes for a family are ruined. I cannot forgive that. Now, I have destroyed your family. Good-bye.

She gathered herself: hatred, loathing, sorrow and grief all coming together to help her fight. She knew it wouldn't be enough, but she had to try.

Ranma's ki blurred. It grew tendrils that moved almost too fast to see as they rapidly touched her in dozens of places in less than two seconds, and her body exploded with pain. They caused her joints to lock, and her muscles to spasm. They touched pain points over and over again. It was too much for her. A piercing scream of agony ripped from her throat just before a last ki strike slammed her backwards into a tree, where she struck with stunning force. As she slid to the ground, she saw him break her staff into small pieces.

Then he looked at her again, and she saw the uncompromising purpose in his eyes.

"Understand me, I've learned from the best there is that I can't leave a withered old ghoul like you behind. I'd wind up getting poisoned in my sleep. I could have killed you days ago, but for one thing: I wanted to break you first.

His ki started to rise hotly around him as he said "I also learned from the best about revenge. I learned from you. It truly IS a dish best served cold."

And the pain, the unbearable pain began again.

Cologne awoke with a gasp. Her body covered in a cold sweat. Her heart beating like a birds in its swiftness. All she could feel was rage. Hot, blood hungry rage.

I WILL KILL THEM ALL! She screamed. TRAITORS! UNGRATEFUL TRAITORS DESERVING OF DEATH!

She was disoriented and confused as she began to take in where she was, but quickly came to herself . Three hundred years of life came in handy for _some_ things at any rate. That... was a _dream_? Her body and spirit began to calm as she considered what she had dreamed. It was so REAL! Then understanding burst upon her, and she purged the rest of her rage.

*No, not a dream... a Sending. That was a Sending! Never before have I had one so powerful, so realistic. Never has one been so specific!*

She had planned to catch Akane alone today, and have Shampoo challenge her to finally determine once and for all who got Ranma. But the Sending showed that to be folly. Obviously Akane had been trained by Ranma.

*I have no doubts that this was a true Sending. A warning from my ancestors about the path I contemplated.* Anger blossomed again at this final thwarting of her efforts. She quickly forced it down. There was no place for it now; she needed to keep her head clear enough to think.

*What is curious and troubling is our depth of reactions. Ranma, I could understand if I truly harmed Akane like that, and ruined their chances to be a true family, but what would send _me_ off into that type of killing rage? It makes no sense. It was almost as if I were drugged...* She checked herself, suddenly seeing things come together. *Shampoo... no. She cannot hide anything from me. I must remember the Sending, see where I was exposed to the rage inducing potion.*

Meditating for a time, she went over every part of the sending until she found what she was looking for. Her eyes snapped open.

*Ryoga! His natural aura was fighting back against the pressure points, so I used the potion to finally override his conscious mind. I never realized that his aura could vaporize some of it. I breathed in enough to be affected, but not until it was too late to get away without doing the damage. Time to break out of this impasse. If Akane IS pregnant, then she really is Ranma's true wife, and Shampoo would heap ultimate dishonor on her entire family if she doesn't stop.

*The small dishonor we will face when we return is nothing compared to what I have Seen. So be it. We shall renounce the marriage. Shampoo will take some time to convince, but will come around. She really thinks that she loves Ranma, but he has made his heart's choice, and when she realizes that the safety of the village is involved she will obey. When I tell the elders of this, they too shall understand why we stopped.*

Another thought struck her, *Shampoo and Mousse.* She chuckled. *Perhaps there is hope for that boy after all. The Ancestors seem to think it's a good idea. I will begin to give him some tips about winning Shampoo. I can train him to be able to beat her in a fight too, if need be.*

Yes, and new training for Ranma. She hated the thought of working with the old Pervert again, but this was important. The new ki techniques she had seen Ranma use were powerful beyond belief. Dr. Tofu was a surprising revelation, but she would enjoy seeing just how much he knew, and he would enjoy learning what she had to teach.

*Perhaps Akane would like to join in on the training?* She chuckled at the thought. After all, teaching her how to cook was the least she owed Ranma.

*What if we make her an amazon by adoption?* That last thought brought her up short. It was perfect! Then Ranma would still be marrying into the tribe. Now, how to convince those two that this was a GOOD thing?

It was going to be strange learning to think about Ranma as a friend instead of an in-law. Many other thoughts clamored for her attention, and she sighed as she realized that she wasn't getting any more sleep that night. So much to think about. So many plans to put into action.

-fin-

Author's note:

Revision one from the posted original.

This is my first fanfic. In fact, it's my first serious bit of creative writing ever. 33 years of reading the great to absolutely lousy is finally paying off. This one just snuck up on me and began screaming in my ear, "WRITE ME!" With that and the 4x4 my muse whacked upside my head, what else could I do? :)

I would like to personally thank Jarred Mitchell .net for his invaluable help in editing, encouraging, and making several small suggestions that helped make this a better story. I highly recommend his story - "Living Life Anew" to anyone. You can find it at: .net/~ It is still a work in progress.

On a final note: C&C ARE welcomed. Especially from those of you for whom writing is a well loved and highly developed craft. Please feel free to show me how I could have done better at presenting my prose.

Robert Knighton

24-July-1999

Continuation:

I would like to thank Alan Harnum, June "Karaohki" Geraci, and Jarred "Mitch" Mitchell for their insights and suggestions concerning the need to revise this story.

Alan, for letting me know that I needed to show why Ranma and Cologne acted so OOC and dark, and for encouraging me as I bounced a few other ideas about this story off of him.

June, for showing my grammar and spelling mistakes, and for correctly critical opinions of my ideas as I sought to start this rewrite. She also helped to spread the word about it to her friends. Thanks.

Mitch, not only have you been a source of encouragement and a good editor, you even put my story on your web page for me. I hope life is putting a big, goofy looking grin on your face right now :)

Thanks again to all who helped make this the 3rd place finisher in the Best of Ranma 1/2 voting for July 1999.

Robert

25-August-1999


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